Former KU Jayhawks golfer Gary Woodland named vice captain for Ryder Cup team
Former University of Kansas golfer Gary Woodland has been named the fifth and final vice captain for the 45th Ryder Cup, to be played Sept. 23-28 at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.
Woodland, 41, will be making his first Ryder Cup appearance as a vice captain or player. He represented the U.S. in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Australia, earning 1.5 points in a 16-14 U.S. victory.
“I am extremely excited and grateful to Keegan (Bradley, U.S. Ryder Cup captain) for the opportunity to support the U.S. Team at the 2025 Ryder Cup,” Woodland said Wednesday. “Keegan’s passion for this event is contagious and I am thrilled to be a part of it. With just over two months to go until we arrive at Bethpage, I am fully committed to doing everything I can to help Keegan as well as our team of vice captains and players.”
Woodland, winner of the 2019 U.S. Open, joins Jim Furyk, Kevin Kisner, Webb Simpson and Brandt Snedeker as vice captains for the U.S. team.
The top six golfers in the European and U.S. team’s Ryder Cup points standings will automatically make the Ryder Cup teams. The other six players on Team USA are chosen by Bradley, with input from his vice captains.
If Bradley winds up being a playing captain at the event, it would mean additional responsibilities for Woodland the other four vice captains.
“I have an incredible amount of respect and admiration for Gary and all he has accomplished in this game,” Bradley said. “As a major champion and someone who is still competing at a high level, he is well aware of the demands of performing on golf’s biggest stages. He will be a valuable leader for us over the coming months and throughout the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.”
Of his own role, and possibly being a captain who plays in the event, Bradley told the Palm Beach Post: “I really wanted to just be the captain. I really felt strongly about that. Now, with the amazing vice captains that I have, and I have a better perspective of playing in the Presidents Cup and being around a lot of the guys, I feel a lot more comfortable if I (played).
“When they called me and told me that I was being the Ryder Cup captain, the first thing they said was, ‘We want you to be the first playing captain since Arnold Palmer. And I mean my head was spinning; I didn’t know what they were talking about. But they knew that was a possibility and we would have things in place for that.”
Woodland is a four-time winner on the PGA TOUR with 56 top-10 finishes in 383 career starts. Woodland was a two-time all-Big 12 selection and won four collegiate tournaments while competing for the Jayhawks.
A 2007 KU graduate, he was the recipient of the 2025 PGA TOUR Courage Award for his return to full-time competition on the U.S.-based circuit following brain surgery in 2023.
The award, according to tour officials, is “presented to a person who, through courage and perseverance, has overcome extraordinary adversity, such as personal tragedy or debilitating injury or illness, to make a significant and meaningful contribution to the game of golf.”
This story was originally published July 2, 2025 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Former KU Jayhawks golfer Gary Woodland named vice captain for Ryder Cup team."
